San Jose, California

San Jose, California (SolSmart Gold)

San José currently ranks third in the nation for solar installed per capita, and has set a bold goal to become the world’s first gigawatt solar city by 2040. The city worked with SolSmart to identify ways to improve the permitting process and reduce costs and wait times for installers and consumers. This will help the city do even more to expand its solar energy footprint, which already includes 22,000 installations totaling 168 MW as of 2018 — the most of any Northern California City. The city also leads by example with 6.5 MW of solar installed at 35 municipal properties. San José International Airport is one of the largest airport solar electric installations in the United States, offsetting 20 percent of the airport’s total electricity needs.